the family table: grain

Showing posts with label grain. Show all posts

February 26, 2013

winter soup session: spicy grain and roasted root vegetable soup

I have long been an admirer of First Slice. Mary Ellen Diaz, their founder, left the restaurant world to start First Slice, a non profit organization who's goal is to ensure that needy and homeless people get "the first slice" of a pie, not the crumbs. She funds her dream by selling subscriptions to family dinners. For 10 weeks, at $78 a week, families come pick up 3 freshly prepared, then frozen meals for the week. Included in the price is money to provide the same quality meal for homeless people at various shelters and soup kitchens in the Chicago area. Her program is so inspiring.

I found this delicious, vegetarian and protein rich soup while researching grains. Mary Ellen shared it with Food and Wine, saying that it is one of the more popular soups at the shelters. I tinkered with it slightly, roasting the vegetables before adding them to the chile broth. One of my soup session friends, Heather, planned to add shredded roast chicken to it. Topped with crumbled tortilla chips, it would resemble a tortilla soup closely.

Spicy Grain and Roasted Root Vegetable Soup by The Family Table

January 29, 2013

winter soup session: chicken, sweet potato and barley soup

You might have noticed me wax on about barley in my last winter session posting on December 4th. I love that short rib, mushroom barley soup but this one is a close second, and much faster and easier especially if you have some leftover cooked chicken hanging out in your refridgerator.

The original recipe, adapted from Melissa Clark from the New York Times, labeled it as "spicy". I do not feel the heat (although you certainly could increase the chili powder) but I really appreciate the warmer spices melding together, especially with the coconut milk pulling it all together.

The next time I make this soup, I will add the spinach in at the very end so it retains its color and nutrients a bit more.

Spiced Sweet Potato, Chicken and Barley Soup by The Family Table

November 13, 2012

fall session: bulgur

If any grain seems "hippy-ish" to me, it is bulgur. Before my grain series I had dabbled in some but NEVER cooked bulgur. I am happy to report, bulgur is really very tasty and an easy way to get some protein and fiber in your diet.

Bulgur closely resembles couscous. However, bulgur is the product of wheat kernels that have been boiled, dried, and crushed while couscous is made from rolling moistened coarsely ground semolina wheat into small balls, which are later coated with a finely ground wheat flour. Bulgur is healthier than couscous as it has 4 times the fiber and has lower calorie and carbohydrate counts.

Bulgur comes in several grades of coarseness: fine bulgur for more delicate salads, coarser bulgur for stews and soups. Since bulgur does not take too long to cook, many recipes have you add it into the dish to cook. If you are making a salad from it, here is an easy way to cook it.

How to Steam Bulgur:

Put 2 Cups water in a pot with a generous pinch of salt.
Bring to a boil.
Add 1 Cup bulgur, stir, remove from heat, cover and let sit for 20 minutes.

This works for medium bulgur, so if using a fine grade, let sit for less time. You can always drain off any excess water.

We made a delicious kale tabbouleh:

Kale Tabbouleh by The Family Table

Then we cooked a Chicken, Chickpea, Apricot and Bulgur Tagine, inspired by Mark Bittman. This is a great weekday entree as it takes under an hour to prepare: you sautee the chicken, deglaze the pan, add all the other ingredients and then let simmer for about 30-40 minutes. I added carrots and fennel to the recipe.

NEED A FINISHED PICTURE HERE

Chickpea Tagine with Chicken and Apricots by The Family Table

Here are a couple more bulgur recipes, untested, that I hope to try soon:

An eggplant, lentil and bulgur salad

A bulgur recipe from my favorite blog 101cookbooks. This would make a great salad for a holiday lunch buffet, so colorful.

October 30, 2012

fall session: farro

Farro was our second focus in The Family Table grain series. Farro dates way back to pre-Roman times (farro grains have been found in Pharoah's tombs) where it was a major food staple. Farro has a similar flavor to brown rice, but has a nuttier taste. It has a very low gluten content and can often be eaten by those with a gluten intolerance (although after making a yummy farro risotto for a gluten free friend, I found out it is not totally gluten free, sorry Tracy). Farro is rich in fiber, magnesium and vitamins A, B, C and E.

Farro is very easy to prepare:

If you think of it, soak the farro in water over night. This will give you a head start on the cooking process, although it is not crucial. Put the drained (or dry if you did not soak) farro in a pot and cover by a couple of inches with water and a good pinch of kosher salt. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and put the top on, stirring occasionally. Non soaked farro takes about 30 minutes for an al dente taste. If you soak it first, plan to cook it about 20 minutes. Drain the farro and stop the cooking process by putting it under cold water until cooled. It is ready to pop into a green salad, or use it for many farro salad recipes.

In class, we made a farro "soup" with red wine, chicken sausage and mushrooms. It was very hearty and when I swirled in truffle oil before serving, it made a very rich and lovely meal for a winter evening. Please enjoy the soup and some other recipes I recommend:

Farro Soup with Sausage and Mushrooms by The Family Table

This is really delicious. Perfect to accompany a simple seared or grilled filet of fish.

Warm Farro and Roasted Vegetable Salad with Fontina by The Family Table

This is a nice hearty vegetarian meal. Easy to make a big pot of and freeze the unused part. I like to freeze my soups and stew in ziploc freezer bags labeled with the name and freezing date. I am looking into freezing things in quart wide mouthed canning jars. Thinking that is an improvement as it elminates the plastic component and makes for easy defrosting in a hot water bath. Often when I defrost ziploc bags in warm water, I spring a leak. Let me know if anyone has any tips on can freezing.

Farro and Lentil Chili by The Family Table

Additionally, following please find some farro recipes that I have not yet tried but am hoping to soon. Let me know what you think if you get inspired to try them out.

Farro and herbs salad, a lunch salad or good with maybe seared salmon or chicken:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/farro-herbs-recipe.html

A crisp, nice salad:
http://honestfare.com/bean-farro-salad-with-cilantro-apple-dressing/

And lastly, before i lose your attention:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/warm-farro-pilaf-with-dried-cranberries/

A great article on farro, including a very good risotto recipe. I added some shredded chicken thighs, mushrooms and spinach to my farrotto and topped with some cheese and truffle oil, it was delicious:
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/01/fresh-recipes-with-an-ancient-grain-4-ways-to-prepare-farro/69313/

IN THE GARDEN

Four years ago, after generous donations from local garden clubs, we launched the Urban Garden at the YWCA. It started as 6 raised beds and we grew tomatoes, herbs, lettuce, kale, swiss chard, cucumbers, zucchini, collard greens, okra, eggplant and yellow squash. In 2012, thanks to an exciting donation from CoBank, we were able to increase the beds by 3, then 2 the next year 2 more in 2014. In our growing season, from April to December (thanks, global warming), I harvest the vegetables and prepare them in my weekly cooking sessions with the women at Mary Lou’s Place. It has been a great experience for all of us: planting seeds, then seeing them pop up from deep dark soil, then harvesting and eating the vegetables. It is magical. Each week I showcase a seasonal vegetable by using simple and easily repeatable recipes and preparations. As our garden unfolds, I will offer those recipes up to you, entitled “In the garden”.

In 2013, we started offering classes to Evanston women participating in W.O.W. (women out walking) sponsored by the Health Department. I held three part series where we would plant seeds; three weeks later tend the seeds and talk about nutrition; and three weeks later harvest and cook with the vegetables.

In 2014, we continued the outreach classes to the Latino Advisory Committee, to clients at Connections for the Homeless, and to families in Y.O.U.'s community schools. It has been a great journey and I hope to add new cooking groups this year.

A big thank you to those who have helped me along the way: to Margaret, Betta, Missy and Laurel for helping me in the kitchen way back when; to Amy A. for being there, for 4 years now; to Kim F. who helped maintain the garden that first summer; to Courtney and Jean who are so lovely to cook with; to Cie, my outreach cooking companion; to Amy D. who is the green thumb behind garden care 2014 and 2015; to Kim C. for making this blog; to Charles without whom the garden would not exist and to all of the many family table cookers, crock pot buyers and garden waterers who have made my years working with the YWCA possible. Thank you.

FAVORITE COOKBOOKS

River Cottage Veg, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Vegetable Literacy, Deborah Madison

Roots, Diane Morgan

Food Matters, Mark Bittman

Super Natural Everyday & Super Natural Cooking, Heidi Swanson

Plenty, Yotam Ottolenghi

Ancient Grains for Modern Meals, Maria Speck

Tender, Nigel Slater

The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, Judy Rodgers

Simply Ming, One Pot Meals, Ming Tsai

Bills Food, Bill Granger

Art of the Slow Cooker, Andrew Schloss

Slow Cooker Revolution, America's Test Kitchen

Any books by Jamie Oliver

Sunday Suppers at Lucques, Suzanne Goin

Braise, Daniel Boulud

Hello.

I created the Family Table in late 2010 with the goal of helping families, of all backgrounds, share low cost, nutritional family meals. From my distant days of cooking in restaurants in San Francisco, I had learned the joys of braising: simmering pots, filling your house with the anticipation of dinner. Braising is simple, inexpensive, full of vegetables, and provides comfort food for the whole family. When I overcame my snobbism of slow cookers just last year, I realized that they were the missing link that could enable families to eat together, even with the crazy pace of life we all seem to lead.

Over the past years, through my bi-weekly cooking with women, I have discovered that we all share the primal desire to eat fresh, healthy and good tasting food. Standing together at a kitchen counter, peeling, chopping, grating, enables us to connect to one another as we share stories of our lives, our hopes, our insecurities in a safe way. We are nurturers by nature and as we gather together to create food for our family, we are brought closer together.

I choose my recipes for their simplicity, affordability and flavor. Wherever I can, I omit extra fats, add extra vegetables, within reason. I want to confess: I am not a health food fanatic. I believe in real food that people will enjoy sharing every night of the week. Most recently, I have started an edible garden where I plan to cook with the fresh produce as it blooms. I encourage people to visit my blog, read the recipes, and maybe even gather some friends and neighbors to cook together.

alex